Delphi Chooses Name for Autonomous Driving Spinoff

Under pressure to adapt to the budding market for autonomous driving and connected cars, Delphi is planning to nudge its business targeting software, computing, and networking components into a new company called Aptiv.

Delphi announced plans in May to split its business into two. Its $4.5 billion powertrain business will become a separate firm called Delphi Technologies. The restructuring’s other offspring will be named Aptiv and focus on “accelerating the commercialization” of advanced safety and connected technologies.

The corporate changes come in the wake of the company’s treaties with chipmakers like Intel to create autonomous driving systems that scan the road to avoid potential collisions. Aptiv’s founding builds on Delphi’s investments in lidar sensors and connectivity software that enables over-the-air updates to a vehicle’s programming.

“The vehicle has evolved and so have we,” said Kevin Clark, Delphi’s current chief executive, who will shift into Aptiv’s chief executive role when the company is incorporated in March, in a statement. “The name 'Aptiv' reflects knowledge, adaptiveness and drive.”

Delphi’s shifting priorities are encapsulated in its recent deal with Blackberry to create an operating system for self-driving cars. In June, it also announced a partnership with Transdev to pilot an autonomous vehicle network in Paris and the French city of Rouen next year.

Delphi’s chief technology officer Glen De Vos will assume the same role at Aptiv, while current senior vice president of the U.K. firm’s powertrain operations, Liam Butterworth, will become chief executive of Delphi Technologies. The names are subject to approval from Delphi’s shareholders.